Books I've been reading
May. 24th, 2004 02:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaitouWell, I'm at the Board of Education now, and thoroughly bored. I thought there would be all sort of exciting things to talk about in regards to me leaving and a new ALT coming in August, but there really isn't. I've checked my e-mail and livejournal friends, and I'm just not quite comforable to look at fanfic on this computer, which is silly; no one can read over my shoulder or anything. So instead of doing that I figure I'll write another LJ post! Lucky you.
As I said in my last post, this lack of internet at home has made sure I'm reading my new english language books faster. And I have picked up some great ones. So I thought I ought to share.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves, by Lynne Truss is the most excellent book on punctuation you are ever likely to find. Yes, punctuation. And no, I haven't gone any crazier than I already was. Mom found an article about it in Newsweek and reccommended it. I managed to find it in Tokyo, naturally I bought it. It's so damned funny. To quote on the inventor of commas:
"That man was Aldus Manutius the Elder (1450-1515) and I will happily admit that I hadn't heard of him until about a year ago, but am now absulutely kicking myself that I never volunteered to have his babies."
And
"I'm sure people did question whether Italian printers were quite the right people to legislate on the meaning of everything; but on the other hand, resistance was obviously futile against a family that could invent italics."
Dead funny, I'm telling you. Besides, I think I finally understand how to properly use a semicolon.
Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices, by Andrew Dalby is a really interesting book about, obviously enough, the history of spices. It's fascinating to read about how things like sugar became a mainstay of our lives and the lengths people were willing to go to (and still are) to get them. The only thing I wish was if it came with a scratch and sniff section, or a box full of little vials of essences (I'm thinking of Luc's box for wine from the movie French Kiss) to go with it. You really can all but smell and taste them, and it really makes me want to try.
Likewise, The Empire of Tea, by Alan McFarlane is a great history of tea and how it came to be a worldwide drink. It makes a good case for tea as one of the deciding factors in the advancement of civilization. And really, really makes me want to write a story about it.
On the fiction side I haven't been reading anything nearly so deep or interesting. I've been having a fun silly time with Regency Romance Novels, particularly those by Julia Quinn. She has a good sense of humor. And also...well, you have to understand that there just aren't many English language books to choose from around here. So I've also been reading a lot of YA books.
The Lemony Snickett "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books are a great fun read. Volume 3 especially brings that punctuation book to mind. I now have vol, 1-3, and 10. Argh! Want more!
Also the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz are a lot of fun. They fit right in with the new wave of teen/kid spy movies that seem to be coming out. They're a wierd mix of realism (the author even sends the kid off on basic SAS training before sending him on the mission) and the James Bond (villans with names like Dr. Grim, and a girl named Sabina Pleasure). I like these far more than I probably should.
Ok, that's enough babbling for now, isn't it? Hopefully to see you online soon!
As I said in my last post, this lack of internet at home has made sure I'm reading my new english language books faster. And I have picked up some great ones. So I thought I ought to share.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves, by Lynne Truss is the most excellent book on punctuation you are ever likely to find. Yes, punctuation. And no, I haven't gone any crazier than I already was. Mom found an article about it in Newsweek and reccommended it. I managed to find it in Tokyo, naturally I bought it. It's so damned funny. To quote on the inventor of commas:
"That man was Aldus Manutius the Elder (1450-1515) and I will happily admit that I hadn't heard of him until about a year ago, but am now absulutely kicking myself that I never volunteered to have his babies."
And
"I'm sure people did question whether Italian printers were quite the right people to legislate on the meaning of everything; but on the other hand, resistance was obviously futile against a family that could invent italics."
Dead funny, I'm telling you. Besides, I think I finally understand how to properly use a semicolon.
Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices, by Andrew Dalby is a really interesting book about, obviously enough, the history of spices. It's fascinating to read about how things like sugar became a mainstay of our lives and the lengths people were willing to go to (and still are) to get them. The only thing I wish was if it came with a scratch and sniff section, or a box full of little vials of essences (I'm thinking of Luc's box for wine from the movie French Kiss) to go with it. You really can all but smell and taste them, and it really makes me want to try.
Likewise, The Empire of Tea, by Alan McFarlane is a great history of tea and how it came to be a worldwide drink. It makes a good case for tea as one of the deciding factors in the advancement of civilization. And really, really makes me want to write a story about it.
On the fiction side I haven't been reading anything nearly so deep or interesting. I've been having a fun silly time with Regency Romance Novels, particularly those by Julia Quinn. She has a good sense of humor. And also...well, you have to understand that there just aren't many English language books to choose from around here. So I've also been reading a lot of YA books.
The Lemony Snickett "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books are a great fun read. Volume 3 especially brings that punctuation book to mind. I now have vol, 1-3, and 10. Argh! Want more!
Also the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz are a lot of fun. They fit right in with the new wave of teen/kid spy movies that seem to be coming out. They're a wierd mix of realism (the author even sends the kid off on basic SAS training before sending him on the mission) and the James Bond (villans with names like Dr. Grim, and a girl named Sabina Pleasure). I like these far more than I probably should.
Ok, that's enough babbling for now, isn't it? Hopefully to see you online soon!
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no subject
Date: 2004-05-24 01:54 am (UTC)I am in the market, just to let you know, for tea drabbles. Specifically tea drabbles where no one would even dream of drinking Earl Grey. There's too much of that nonsense going around already.
On the fiction side I haven't been reading anything nearly so deep or interesting. I've been having a fun silly time with Regency Romance Novels, particularly those by Julia Quinn. She has a good sense of humor.
Come, little Ann! Come read Georgette Heyer! Her fandom awaits you! Come!
no subject
Date: 2004-05-24 09:32 am (UTC)Yes, succumb to the Dark Side, Ann; Georgette Heyer will create a ruler by which all Regency Romance novels will forevermore be measured in your personal critique. Just don't try to talk like any of her characters at work; people look at you funny.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-24 02:42 pm (UTC)Except 'Devil's Cub'. You know, I don't know how I'd manage to describe some books if I didn't have the phrase 'Mary Sue' to use.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-24 03:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-25 05:36 am (UTC)My personal favorites are 'These Old Shades' and 'The Foundling', because I love sweet guys and assholes.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-24 04:15 pm (UTC)To paraphrase Alfred P. Doolittle. "I'm willing to succumb, I'm wanting to succumb, I'm waiting to succumb!"